Goodman Group
has snared another cornerstone investor after Malaysia’s Employees Provident Fund committed $300 million to a new Australian industrial vehicle that will be co-owned and managed by the logistics giant.

The relationship could eventually deliver up to $1.5 billion in investment for Goodman as the pensions behemoth intends to increase its exposure to the sector, offering the warehousing operator another valuable cash stream as it pursues ambitious international expansion plans.

EPF, a state-owned retirement fund with close to $143 billion under management, has initially agreed to seed a $400 million joint venture vehicle comprised of six Australian industrial assets.

Both organisations have pledged $500 million in combined equity to the fund.

Goodman hopes to grow the vehicle, in which it will own a 40 per cent stake, into a $1 billion venture within three years.

The launch of the EPF partnership follows news the logistics player has secured a foothold in the US in advance of a $1 billion-plus expansion drive into the world’s largest economy.

The group is in negotiations for more than one million square metres of warehouse space in a key logistics hub on the fringes of Los Angeles.

Greg
Goodman
, the group’s chief executive, declined to elaborate on the foray but said “we are seriously progressed in the US".

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When heading offshore, Goodman has traditionally leant on its handful of heavyweight investors, which include the Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board, Dutch retirement giant APG and China’s sovereign wealth arm, CIC.

While there has been speculation the group will select just one of these major investors for the US, Mr Goodman said the number could be as high as three or four.

In a research note yesterday, JP Morgan’s Richard Jones described the EPF deal as “further evidence of [Goodman’s] access to deep pocketed capital partners to fund its growth."

The group sold $207 million worth of assets into the joint EPT vehicle while Goodman’s largest managed fund, GAIF offloaded its Greystanes complex in a deal thought to have totalled $188 million.

According to Mr Jones the warehousing sites were sold at “carrying value and on an exit yield of 7.7 per cent."

He said the sales off balance sheet will free up $100 million for Goodman’s global expansion.

Mr Goodman stressed the EPF vehicle did not present a conflict of interest with the management of GAIF. The $4.5 billion domestic fund would retain its “first rights of refusal" over Goodman’s acquisitions and developments in Australia.

He claimed the deal was “well canvassed" with GAIFs 30-odd stake holders.